Ways to Fight Stress in Your Mind & Body
When we’re under stress from our job, our family, or our life in general, our body takes the brunt of it. However, if we fail to take precautions to protect our health, our stress will eat away at it. Next thing you know, you’re sick in bed. That’s why learning how you can fight stress and it’s affects on your body is so important.
We all suffer from the affects of stress in our lives. No one is exempt. Stress robs us of our energy, eats away at our immune system, and keeps us from getting a good night’s sleep to re-charge our batteries. Here are a few tips to help us fight stress by keeping a healthy body and mind.
Foods That Hurt
- Caffeine – increases stress hormone levels and disrupts sleep
- Alcohol – central nervous system depressant brings down your mood
- Refined Sugar, Carbs, and Processed Food – triggers a blood sugar spike which releases the stress hormone adrenaline, depletes levels of Vitamin B which fight stress, and cause fatigue and irritability
- Gluten – inhibits production of the mood-boosting hormone Serotonin in the gut where the major concentration of this hormone is found
- Artificial Sweeteners – blocks the production of Serotonin, and contributes to mood dips, headaches, and insomnia
- Genetically-Modified Foods – all kinds of wrong and too many concerns to list here
Foods That Help
- Omega 3 Fatty Acids – works in the brain to fight depression
- Folic Acid/Vitamin B – fights fatigue, improves mental clarity, boosts mood, and provides brain and body energy
- Vitamin C – increases immunity, lowers level of stress hormones
- Vitamin D – increases the mood-boosting hormone Serotonin
- Magnesium – helps regulate the stress response which produces excess Cortisol, known as the original “Chill Pill”
- Zinc – controls the brain & body’s response to stress, improves immune systems ability to fight the effects of stress on the body
Physical Activities That Hurt
When you’re sick, rest is the best thing for you. However, when you are feeling stressed, anxious, or depressed, it only exacerbates the situation. Usually, your mind tells you to lay around and relax, but that’s easier said than done. Relaxing that is. Laying around is easy. However, we usually spend that time obsessing about all that’s causing our stress, anxiety, or depression.
Physical Activities That Help
- Walk – physical activity releases endorphins that produce a pleasant feeling
Mental Activities That Hurt
- Reliving the Past – living in the past contributes to depression
- Forecasting the Future – living in the future contributes to anxiety
- Noticing the Negative – focus on what’s going right, not what’s going wrong
- Mack Truck Mentality – avoid the mindset that the light at the end of the tunnel is another train coming at you
Mental Activities That Help
- Live in the Present – You can’t fix everything that went wrong yesterday. Nor can you figure out how to avoid everything that might go wrong tomorrow. And finally, you can’t solve the world’s problems, if you want to have time to help yourself right now.
- Be Intentional with Your Schedule – Let your INTENTIONAL schedule lead your life, not your out-of-control life control your schedule. Remember to schedule time for your priorities.
- Speak Up – Learn to say yes to yourself. Just as importantly, learn to say no to yourself and others. But most importantly, help train others to respect your boundaries.
- Accentuate the Positive – Learn to find and focus on the positive in every situation.
- Use the PIRA Process to Make Changes – P is for Planning the changes you want to make. I is for Implementing the plans you made. R is for Reflecting on how things went. And, A is for Adjusting your plan to match your reflection. Then try it all again.
- Self-Awareness is the key.
Plan for a Healthy Mind & Body
Now it’s time to put into practice what you just learned about how to fight stress in your mind and body. Of course, everyone has a different situation, so there’s no one right answer. Pick one or two areas you’d like to work on which will bring the greatest relief from the stress, anxiety, and depression you’re experiencing.
Need help implementing these self-care strategies in your own life? Check out my Joy Journal. It’s a combination planner/journal to help support attempts to manage your emotions and make positive habit changes.
Need inspiration and encouragement? Join me on Facebook on the Sadness to Joy page. That’s where you’ll find the daily encouragement and accountability you need to help bring your plan into existence.
What healthy habit target do you need to develop?
